Once upon a time.....
My mom and my two sisters, Mary Beth and Leslie, all met me at my house early Sunday morning and we began the small trek to Cincinnati for my appointment at Belle Bridal. We had a fantastic car ride up there - lots of laughing, geeking out over the wedding, listening to my song selections - just being girls. I really cherished the time spent with my mom and sisters, and it made the entire experience of the day that much better!
We arrived in Cincy a little early, despite our pit-stop to order biscuits with eggs and cheese on them on our way. Yes. That's right. I'm not only NOT the girl who starved herself to go try on gowns, a bitch had some biscuits, mmmK?
Once we arrived, we fell in love with the small little area of town where the shop was located. It was all small boutiques, ALL wedding related, and everything was so quaint. It was a very small little neighborhood, and we were able to just roam around - no traffic, hardly any people out, and super cute. We rounded the corner, and there it was.
This beautiful, purple beacon of goodness calling out to me. Then, we walk in the door and are greeted with this:
After the angel's finished their rousing refrain of the Hallelujah Chorus, and the fairy dust cleared my eyes, I was able to take it in. I was in a bridal shop - not to try on a bridesmaid dress, but for meeeeeee! Squeeeee!! My consultant, Montana, greeted us cheerily and asked me a few quick questions before taking us back to a private little fitting area. And guys. Y'all KNOW it was purple, right?!
Pinks and purples and Michas flew about the room. I giddily kicked off my flip flops and plopped down on a chair and could barely breathe I was so excited/nervous!! Montana disappeared to go begin pulling gowns for me, and about 15 minutes later she reappeared with her arms full. I had read online that the consultants were very good about knowing exactly what would fit you, and all sample sizes are plus-size. But I was admittedly still nervous that nothing would even go ON me, let alone zip, button, snap, or tie.
I stepped into the huge fitting room, and we dove right in. She helped me climb into the first gown. And I mean climb. I had to dig my way through that bitch like I was trying to reach the summit of Everest. If I was a weak one, I wouldn't have made it. At least not without a guide.
So I get the gown on, and I'm not facing the mirror yet, and she is behind me bustling around and then....THEN...theeeeennnn....she zipped the dress. It fit like a glove. She just zipped it right up, then buttoned up the top, and suddenly I was in a wedding dress, that fit perfectly, in my size, and shit got real. So she asks me to turn around, and I do. And I saw.....boobs. Ohhh the boobs. I mean, it is NO secret that I am a well-endowed young woman, and I do have boobs for days. Boobs so large that I've often been known to loose things in them, such as money, cheetos, and a stray goldfish cracker every now and then. But when I turned around, even I was shocked at myself. She asked me what my first thought was and I just went, "Boobs." and she laughed hysterically. The dress was beautiful. It was sleeveless, but had attachable sleeves as an option, had lots of vintage-y lace and beadwork and was stunning. I stepped out to show my mom and sisters, and I stepped up on the little pedestal thing (which, by the way I thought was only on TV!). It was hilarious, because on TV generally the bride steps out and everyone ooo's and ahhh's, but stays sitting. Not us Hughes girls! They ooo'd and ahh'd, and we had that "OMG our baby is trying on her first wedding dress!" moment. But then, all three of them popped up like prairie dogs. They were snapping on the sleeves, tucking things across my cleavage, fluffing the bottom, pulling here adjusting there - it was a frenzy!! LOL It was SO funny and yet so fun all at the same time. My consultant was right in the mix, too. And by the end of the frenzy, I turned around in the mirror again and I had transformed. The boobs had been tamed - well, relatively - the sleeve had been attached, made a 3/4 length, and made smaller all without any sewing (no idea...) and it looked beautiful! I started to really see it and we all really like it. But then I said, "I like this, but I don't love it. I'm not IN love with it." to which they all go "NEXT!" and I went back in the fitting room.
The second dress was a completely different style than the first. This one had a laced up corset as the bodice, and was covered in beauuuuuitful satin that was all soft like buttermilk. Oh it felt so soft. Montana kept lacing me up and it kept getting tighter, but it didn't feel too tight. But it was SO UNCOMFORTABLE!! That bodice was like a mini torture chamber. She got it on, and I waddled out to show the girls. I climbed up on the pedestal, and they all just loved how beautiful it was. The frenzy resumed, and within 5 minutes that dress suddenly had a bustle and sleeves. Again, no sewing. These Hughes girls.....
But I was only in it for about 15 minutes, and I was miserable. I had her loosen the corset thinking that might be the problem, but even with it loosened it was just awful. The dress fit perfectly, again it was my size and laced up like a pro. But the structure of the boning was just poking and choking. So I decided to try sitting. Oh thaaaat was smart. I more or less fell into a chair, and both my boobs popped up and bitchslapped me in the face in retaliation. My neck disappeared entirely under the swath of my cleavage, and then I couldn't even get up. All the fullness of the dress combined with the bodice and I was just immobile! haha My mom and Montana yanked me up and I wobbled back into the fitting room. I rated this dress a 5 out of 10 based purely on how uncomfortable it was, but it was still stunning!
So. Dress number three. Montana helped me cliiiiiimb into it. It was also a corset bodice, but it was structured entirely differently. It didn't hurt at all. And before I even turned around to the mirror, I knew it fit like a glove. It just went on perfectly. Then she ran around for a few minutes searching for the matching jacket and belt that comes with it. Finally, she gets it all on and I look in the mirror, and it. was. beautiful. Stunning. Shocking!
I walked out and climb my pedestal for the girls, and they are all instantly up and ready to do battle with the dress. But then, we realized it needed nothing. It made me look beautiful. I FELT beautiful. So Montana asks if I'd like to see it with the veil. She brings it out and clips it into my hair, and I get back up on the pedestal, and my breath just got taken away. I suddenly saw it all. I saw the doors to the church opening, I saw Andrew standing there, I saw me dancing, I saw all my pictures - it was like having a flashback, but it was a flash forward. I have never felt so beautiful in my entire life. I felt like a princess. Every inch of it hugged me in all the right places, and it was STUNNING. I stood there for what felt like hours, and when I came back to reality I realized I was crying. I look over to my side, and my two sisters and mom are just standing there silently. My mom was bawling her eyes out, silently. Her eyes were red, tears were pouring down her face, and she was just standing in the corner, my tiny little momma, watching me cry.
I have always wondered about "the moment". I know every girl doesn't have it, and I know on TV it is beyond made into a Hollywood moment. So I really had no idea what to expect in terms of how I would react. Would I just know? Would I cry? Would I just find one I liked better and say okay? Would I find anything? Would I think EVERY gown was perfect just because it was a highly anticipated moment and wedding gowns are pretty? It completely hit me out of nowhere that I had this type of reaction. I saw it all, and more than anything I kept seeing Andrew. I just could see him seeing me. My other two sister's started to tear up, and then Montana started to cry! She asked me if this was "the one", and I hesitated for a brief second. Because, I had a quick reality check that this gown was a tiny bit over my dress budget - by $260 to be exact. And that is a lot to me because again, we are paying for the wedding, budget is very important, and I had set a strict budget for my gown since we went over on my ring by a little. So I said, "Well....who wants to tell Andrew I'm over budget?!" and my mom and Mary and Leslie all started talking at once. My mom goes, "I'm paying half!" and Leslie goes "Oh I'll FIND money to cover that difference. You are buying this dress!!" and Mary and Montana are crying in separate corners. Then Montana goes, "Let me call Stacy. I'm going to ask if she can give you the veil for free. You HAVE to have this veil. It makes the entire dress." So I cried even harder. haha Then I took a deep breath and go "THIS IS MY DRESS!! YES!!!" It was it. I'm a sappy little hopelessly romantic dork and I don't care.
So immediately I get paparazzi'd by my sisters. I made them promise me NO PICTURES on my cell phone because Andrew isn't allowed to see the gown until our wedding day. So they snapped a million on theirs, and then swore to secrecy. I'm not letting anyone see it!!! Then they start showing me the pictures, and I cry and gasp again because it is not only beautiful, but I genuinely looked beautiful in it. And I never say things like that about myself!! The back of the dress.....oh you guys. YOU GUYS!!! That back. Shew!
I finally consented to the fact that I couldn't wear the gown home, and I trudged back into the fitting room to take it off. Sigh. I so wanted to wear it out. My mom and I went into the office and began the process of buying a car...er, buying a wedding dress. Oh, the paperwork and decisions! It is being made by a designer, so it will take 4 months to arrive. That will leave me with exactly 2 months for alterations. I really basically just need it hemmed. Everything else fit perfect. Just needs a hook here, a button there, and voila!
I cannot speak highly enough about my day at Belle Bridal. I felt like a princess from start to finish. I was celebrated as a beautiful woman. My size meant nothing. Just nothing! Plus-sized brides, if you are out there and reading this please, I beg you, make your appointment at this store today!! They cater to us big girls, and I would recommend it to anyone!!! You can zip, tie, button, snap, and lace up anything in that store. They brought me every gown in my size exactly, fitting like a glove. No clips in sight! A wonderful, friendly staff who were just as involved in my big day as we were, a beautiful (purple!) boutique, hundreds of gowns in stock all above a size 12W, hundreds of accessories, and more!
It was a fantastic day, a special memory I will always have, and a time I will never forget. I said yes to THE dress. Oh, and I did get that veil for free. ;)
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